1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to surgical fastener appliers, and more particularly, a surgical fastener applier configured for continued operation in the presence of a bending load applied to an endoscopic portion thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Various surgical procedures require instruments capable of applying fasteners to tissue to form tissue connections or to secure objects to tissue. For example, during hernia repair it is often desirable to fasten a mesh to body tissue. In certain hernias, such as direct or indirect inguinal hernias, a part of the intestine protrudes through a defect in the support abdominal wall to form a hernial sac. The defect may be repaired using an open surgery procedure in which a relatively large incision is made and the hernia is closed off outside the abdominal wall by suturing. The mesh is attached with sutures over the opening to provide reinforcement.
Minimally invasive, e.g., endoscopic or laparoscopic, surgical procedures are currently available to repair a hernia. In laparoscopic procedures surgery is performed in the abdomen through a small incision while in endoscopic procedures, surgery is performed through narrow endoscopic tubes or cannulas inserted through small incisions in the body. Laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures generally utilize long and narrow instruments capable of reaching deep within the body and configured to seal with the incision or tube they are inserted through. Additionally, the instruments must be capable of being actuated remotely, that is, from outside the body.
Currently, minimally invasive surgical techniques for hernia repair utilize surgical fasteners, e.g., surgical tacks, staples, and clips, to secure the mesh to the tissue to provide reinforcement to the repair and structure for encouraging tissue ingrowth. Surgical fasteners are often applied through an elongate instrument for delivery to the mesh, and are manipulated from outside a body cavity. Challenges are presented in the course of minimally invasive surgical procedures when an elongate instrument is flexed or deflected, e.g., when being manipulated by an operator, encountering an obstruction, or otherwise subject to a bending load. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved instrument configured to withstand a bending load for delivering surgical fasteners to a minimally invasive surgical procedure site.